The Programmer's Mansion Murder Case
by Swagnarok
Summary: Kogoro and Eri visit three old friends from college. One is the former bullied nerd who has now become very wealthy, another is the former star athlete who ruined his life and is now working for the nerd, and the third is the former star cheerleader who used to date the athlete but is now married to the nerd. Suffice to say, somebody gets murdered. Episode 918


The rental car whooshed past a fat kid standing on a street corner in front of a convenience store with an ice cream cone in his hand. The passing wind knocked his ice cream to the ground.

"I'll get it tomorrow, geez!" Kogoro said.

"You really mean it this time?" Eri asked sternly. "You did say that yesterday, after all."

"I-it's a refrigerator!" Kogoro said. "Of course I'd put something like that off! Why can't you just hire a moving company? You make a lot more money than I do!"

"Why would I do something like that?" Eri snapped. "Isn't it your responsibility as my husband to do whatever heavy lifting needs to be done?"

"We don't even need another refrigerator," Kogoro muttered sullenly.

"Mine's a lot newer and nicer than the one you have now, so quit your whining," Eri said.

Conan and Nancy were sitting in the back seat watching those two go at it.

"I just hope I don't have to help him move that thing," Conan muttered, sipping his juice.

 **Opening:**

(Jump by Mai Kuraki)

(In my time as a detective I've learned that tingling feelings are subconscious observations! Kogoro and Eri's friends from college, and a dinner party which devolves into a murder! He perceives the one and only truth! With the body of a child but the mind of an adult, his name is…Detective Conan!)

Sometimes I think the beat is just too fast for me

Other times the beat is way too slow

The clothes passed down to me are a size too small

How can anyone walk in these shoes?

The thermostat is kept a notch too low

My awkward shadow bumps into everything

The silence in my daily life is deafening

And other times the music's way too loud

There is a world for me over the canyon

A world that's just my size, just my tempo

Don't look back, don't look down

Just close your eyes and take a leap into the dark

You got to jump, you got to jump

Like you're reaching for precious oxygen

You got to jump, you got to jump

Like you're aiming for the shining stars

You got to jump, you got to jump

Don't even fall back to get a running start

When your feet hit ground that's its own reward

But you will never know until you jump

 **The Programmer's Mansion Murder Case!**

The car pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop. The four of them got out of the car and headed for the front door. Kogoro rang the doorbell.

Three seconds later a burly guy opened the door.

"Huh?" Kogoro said, confused. "You can't be Shigeru, can you?"

"No," the man said. "Honestly, Kogoro, you don't remember me?"

"Y-you're Makoto, right?!" Eri exclaimed. "You were the star athlete for a while there, if I recall correctly. You kept bragging that you were going to one day compete in the Koshien Bowl."

(Author's Note: As a testament to the cultural influence of the United States, American Football has a following in Japan, where there are some college teams. The big annual college football championship in real life Japan is the "Koshien Bowl", which is held at the Koshien Stadium in the city of Nishinomiya.)

"That was a long time ago," Makoto Ayanami, age 37, said. "Please step inside. Master Shigeru is waiting."

"M-master Shigeru?" Kogoro repeated.

"Ah, Kogoro! Eri-chan!"

Shigeru Katsuragi, age 37, walked into view.

"Shigeru! You old rascal," Kogoro said with a friendly tone. "I never thought that you'd…ever have a home like this. Wow, times sure have changed. The last time I saw you, some athlete was giving you a swirly."

Shigeru chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I was a nobody back then. I barely recognise myself from college."

The four of them stepped inside and Makoto closed the door. They walked into the living room. Maya Katsuragi, age 37, was sitting down in the living room wearing an evening dress. She had blonde hair and heavy makeup.

"Ah, Maya-chan!" Kogoro said.

"I remember you," Eri said to Maya. "You were that really popular cheerleader. You and Makoto were an item, weren't you?"

Maya took a sip of wine. "Please, dear. That was ages ago. Shigeru is the only man for me now."

She arose and wrapped her arms around Shigeru's. "Isn't that right, dear?"

From the corner of her eye Nancy could see a strange look on Makoto's face. It was the look of a man who was trying his hardest to remain calm, to not let his anger show. His fists were clenched tightly.

 **Scene Transition**

Shigeru, Maya, and their four guests were seated at the dinner table. Makoto began carrying the dishes to the table.

"So, Shigeru-san, I hear you started a multi-billion yen software company?" Eri asked.

"You heard correctly," Shigeru said. "We do lots of business with private sector firms, but about half of our revenue comes from the (Japanese) government. Last year my company beat out all its rivals to secure a 30 billion yen contract with the government to develop a cyber defense system over five years to protect government websites and our national infrastructure against Chinese and North Korean hackers. The system has the working title _Jet Alone_."

A cyber defense system, Conan thought. To protect against cyberattacks which could disable the nation's infrastructure. Come to think of it, isn't this the kind of thing which would perk the interest of the men in black? Tequila contacted Hideaki Nakajima to acquire the names of the world's best programmers. They also contacted Suguru Itakura to make him complete some kind of program for them. What if…?

Kogoro raised the wine glass to his lips. Eri grabbed his shoulder to get his attention and then shook her head, so as to signal "Don't do it". Kogoro then put the wine glass down.

"Hey, _oji-san_ ," Conan said in a childish voice. "Were you ever contacted by a really big guy with a Kansai-ben accent who wanted you to develop a program for them?"

The sudden look in Shigeru's eyes told Conan that he was on the money.

"How did this kid know that?!" Shigeru demanded. "Maya, you were the only other person who knew that! Have you been blabbing?"

Maya rose from her seat. "Of course not! How dare you accuse me of such a thing?!"

"Now, now," Kogoro said with a friendly look, trying to defuse the tense situation. Then he turned to Conan. "Hey brat, how did you know that?"

Conan chuckled nervously. "I heard it on TV that Yakuza groups based in Kansai commit a lot of cybercrime."

That's got to be the dumbest lie I've come up with yet, Conan thought.

"I turned such a shady character down, of course," Shigeru said. Then he tried to change the subject. "Anyway, I'm surprised to hear that the two of you got hitched. You were always fighting in college, if I remember correctly."

Kogoro chuckled. "Yeah, we've always been fighting. In fact we've been separated until a few days ago."

"Really?" Maya asked, her interest perked. "What happened?"

"My husband was a drunk for ten years," Eri said bluntly. "It was only recently when I agreed to move back in, after he promised to quit drinking."

"Oh, is that so? I'm so happy for you two then!" Shigeru said. "Kogoro, since you're trying to quit would you like for me to take your glass away?"

"Uh yes, please," Kogoro said.

 **Scene Transition**

 _"_ _If the Organisation has a drug that can raise the dead, though, then couldn't they already revive all their Antichrist samples?" Shinichi asked._

 _"_ _That is correct," Elena said. "The possibility exists that they already have, or that they will in the near future. Until revival, all of their samples are stored in liquid nitrogen at a facility in Hokkaido. However, their plans won't be in reach simply upon the revival of Antichrist. Even if they revived all of their several hundred existing samples, humanity would still be the dominant species of planet Earth. That has to change, which is why the Organisation is now devoting its resources towards developing a weapon that can destroy human civilisation."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _I can't. I refuse to finish it. I know this program mustn't be completed, not because of my vision, but for the sake of humanity._

-Entry from the diary of Suguru Itakura

 **Scene Transition**

A weapon that can destroy human civilisation, Conan thought. The Black Organisation's mysterious software program which they are trying desperately to see completed. A program which Itakura risked his life and turned down a large sum of money rather than finish. Could it be…?

The program which they are trying to complete, he thought. Could it be…a cyberweapon? An unstoppable virus, one which would spread uncontrollably and down all national power grids. Turn off running water to cities. Disable GPS. Cause critical malfunction in nuclear power plants all over the world. Shut down the internet itself, and all other modern forms of communication. Perhaps even take control of the world's nuclear arsenal. In the hands of the Black Organisation, the completed program could spell the end of the world as we know it.

Conan was visibly shaking in his seat.

"Uh, Kogoro-san? Eri-san?" Nancy said. "I think Conan has to go to the bathroom. Come on, Conan, let's go."

"It's down the hall to your left," Shigeru said.

Conan and Nancy entered the hallway. Once they were out of earshot…

"Conan, what's wrong?" Nancy asked. "You look like you're terrified about something. And who was that big guy with the Kansai-ben accent you mentioned really?"

"Ran…" Conan said. "No, Nancy. Nancy, I think…I think I've doomed us all."

 **Scene Transition**

"I love your hair. Where did you get yours done?"

"Really? I'm so glad you noticed. I get mine done at a place called _Un Salon Petit_. It's about fifteen minutes from here. I used to go elsewhere, but my then-barber became a murderer and she went to jail."

"Oh? How awful! Darling, let me tell you…"

Kogoro sat down on the living room couch, scowling and growling, glancing into the dining room and waiting for his wife to finish her conversation with Maya.

"Women," he murmured. "Geez, they've been at it for two hours now."

Two hours earlier Shigeru had gone to bed. Makoto was going around the house cleaning.

Conan and Nancy were lying on the carpet, game controllers in their hands. They were playing _Super Bash Bros._ on the TV.

"Hey, Conan," Nancy whispered. "You never told me what you meant back then."

"Oh, that?" Conan replied. "It's nothing."

"But you said that you 'doomed us all'," Nancy said. "That doesn't sound like nothing."

"Oh, I just thought that I had left behind a piece of evidence which would implicate me, Haibara, and by extension you of being shrunken adults," Conan lied. "But it turns out I was wrong. Our secrets are safe."

So that's what you were upset about? Nancy thought. "Uh, could you be a bit more specific?"

"I told you, it's fine," Conan said. "Don't worry about it."

Nancy glared at him. "You're hiding something from me, and you know how I feel about that."

Conan was flustered now. He put the remote down and said "Look, I'll tell you some other time, okay?"

While he was distracted, Nancy's in-game character attacked Conan's and sent his flying, knocking his off the screen.

"H-hey!" Conan said, quickly grabbing his controller.

Nancy grinned mischievously.

 **Scene Transition**

"My, it's getting kind of late, isn't it?" Eri said, looking at the clock on the wall. "If you don't mind…"

"Not at all," Maya said. "Just let me go check on my husband real fast."

Maya got up and headed for the bedroom. A few seconds later Kogoro, Eri, Conan, and Nancy heard a scream. Without even take the time to pause the game Conan got up and rushed towards the bedroom. Nancy followed after him.

They saw Shigeru's corpse lying on the bed, blood splattered everywhere.

 **Midpoint** (Door slams shut, bizarre Japanese TV ads play, door re-opens and episode resumes)

 **Scene Transition**

Inspector Megure walked through the front door, followed by Takagi and several other officers.

"Greetings, _Kebu-dono_!" Kogoro said with a salute.

Megure sighed. "Hello, Mouri-kun. It seems we meet again at yet another crime scene."

Then again, the curse might be brought on by that boy, Megure thought, looking at Conan.

"Anyway, I need someone to tell me exactly what happened here," Megure said.

 **Scene Transition**

"And that's when you discovered the murder," Megure said.

"Yeah," Kogoro said. "Well, the first people to enter the room were Maya-chan and the freeloader. Well, that is, the boy freeloader."

"Eh?" Megure said, looking at Nancy. "You mean that little girl isn't the victim's daughter?"

"Uh, well, no," Kogoro said with a nervous chuckle. "Actually, that girl's parents got into an accident and so Eri let her stay at our house."

"Our house?" Megure repeated. " _Chotto matte_ , y-you mean…?!"

"Yup!" Kogoro said with a big grin. "Eri and I got back together!"

"Just how drunk are you?" Megure asked with a skeptical look.

"I haven't had anything to drink in several days, actually," Kogoro said, still grinning. "Besides water and coffee, that is."

Megure was still skeptical. "Anyway, if I heard correctly there are two suspects, right?"

"Uh, actually, inspector, we've narrowed it down to one person," Eri said.

"Ehhhhh?!" Megure said, shocked. "How?"

"When I entered the room, I inspected the body and it had not yet entered the stage of rigor mortis," Kogoro said. "As we both know, rigor mortis will usually kick in within two or three hours after death, and it doesn't wear off for a good 24 hours or so, and yet the body was as limp as a wet noodle. I would say that not even an hour had passed since his death. Within that one hour, and for a good hour before that, Maya-chan was talking with Eri the whole time. The only time that she left our sight was for a few seconds when she left the room to check on her husband; that was whenever she discovered the murder. I entered the room a few seconds after that. The cause of death was a stab wound to the heart; given this, had she committed the murder within just a second or two prior to screaming, he would still be alive when we got to him, if just barely. Clearly he was murdered prior to that point, and within the timeframe of the murder she would've had no other opportunities to commit the crime. Besides me, Eri, and the two children, and we obviously didn't do it, the only person without an alibi is the butler, Makoto-san, who left our sights in order to do some cleaning around the house. He is the only person who could've committed the murder, and he could've done it quite easily. I mean, just look at him!"

"Y-you're wrong!" Makoto said. "I didn't kill nobody! Since I got out I've been trying to live a blameless, honest life!"

"Since you got out?" Megure said.

Makoto sighed. "I guess I have no choice but to tell you what happened to me. Kogoro, Eri, do you remember how one day I just disappeared?"

"Uh, yeah," Kogoro said.

"Well, the night before that, after practice me and my teammates went out for drinks," Makoto said. One minute I was listening to the guys talk while chugging down a beer. The next thing I remember I was sitting in my car in the middle of the open road. The airbag had been deployed, the car alarm had gone off, and the car in front of me was a total mess. The driver of that car was in even worse shape, and I hear he died of his injuries an hour later. I spent ten years in prison, ten long years…Whenever I got out, I had a really hard time finding work. Furthermore, I discovered that Maya had married Shigeru, who I remembered only as that antisocial geek from college. He had become very wealthy, while I was doing odd jobs to make ends meet. Ultimately I ended up working for him as a butler. It-it was…totally unfair. Beyond unfair. I had everything, and he was a loser…but in the end our roles were reversed."

"And that's why you killed him?" Megure asked.

"What? No!" Makoto said. "Certainly I was bitter, but…I would never kill him. As much as I hate what happened, Shigeru gave me a job after I had spent almost three months unemployed. He provided me with a stable, good-paying job, a way to earn my living, and I am forever grateful to him for that. And to be honest, though I hate to admit it, it was far more than I deserved; in college, I never did anything to save him from my fellow athletes who tormented him, and I can't deny that I picked on him a little bit myself. And as for Maya…I still love her, even after all these years. She was a married woman, and I had to accept that, but this job gave me the opportunity to be close to her, if only as a servant."

Maya scoffed. "Save us the crap, Makoto! You killed my husband, didn't you?! You're the only person in this room who could've done it, after all!"

She grabbed him by the collar angrily.

This is getting nowhere, Conan thought. I need to investigate for myself.

Conan ran towards the bedroom where the crime was committed. But then…

"Nuh-uh," Takagi said. "You can't come in here, Conan-kun. This is a crime scene."

"B-but…" Conan whined like a helpless child would.

Then he saw a forensics officer digging through a bedroom drawer and pulling out a needle. Then the officer pulled out another. He put them in a bag.

"Hey _Takagi-keiji_ ," Conan said. "What's in those syringes?"

"Oh, that?" Takagi asked. "Uh, excuse me, what's in those?"

"From what I can tell they were filled with Botox," the officer answered.

So that's how she did it, Conan realised with a smile. Case closed.

 **Scene Transition**

"I'm telling you, you've got the wrong guy!" Makoto shouted as two officers grabbed him by the arms and began to drag him away.

Kogoro sighed. "I never thought that Makoto-san would stoop to murder."

"Me neither," Eri said.

Conan aimed his stun-gun wristwatch at the back of Kogoro's neck and then fired.

At once, almost as if he were under a magic spell, Kogoro began dancing like a ballerina, stumbling towards a living room couch while squealing like a pig.

"I should really…see a therapist," Kogoro muttered right before falling asleep in a sitting position on the couch.

Conan hid behind said couch and took his voice-changing bowtie out.

"Inspector, you're arresting the wrong person," Conan/Kogoro said.

"Huh?" Megure said. "Wait, that pose! You mean…?!"

"Yes, I've figured out how the culprit committed the crime," Conan/Kogoro said.

"T-trick?" Maya said. "There is no trick! Makoto just killed him in a moment of rage!"

"That's what you want us to believe," Conan/Kogoro said. "Oh yes, the culprit was YOU, Maya!"

"Me?!" Maya said in disbelief. "Okay, wise guy! Tell me how I could've possibly done it!"

"Gladly," Conan/Kogoro said. "First of all, a short recap of tonight's events. After dinner, Shigeru went to bed. Perhaps it was normal for him to go to bed after dinner, or perhaps he was…let's just use the word 'persuaded', by a sleeping pill that you slipped in his wine."

"Yes, it is normal for master Shigeru to go to bed after eating dinner," Makoto said.

"You stay out of this, you murderer!" Maya exclaimed.

"Anyways, we can all attest to the fact that you followed him to the bedroom," Conan/Kogoro said. "Under the guise of 'making sure he takes his medicine' before bed, of course. In the bedroom you knocked him out with a blunt object of some kind, injected botulinum toxin into his body, and then murdered him with a knife which you slipped from the kitchen. I'm assuming that you wore gloves, but I digress. After you committed the murder you presumably threw the knife and the gloves out the window, but with no fingerprints left behind you didn't worry about anyone finding them. Then you…"

"Hold on," Megure said. "Botulinum toxin?"

"Indeed, inspector," Conan/Kogoro said. "Botulinum toxin, which serves to weaken the muscles of human beings, has commercial applications ranging from cosmetics to treating muscle stiffening in people with cerebral palsy. It is commonly marketed under the name 'Botox'. No one would consider it suspicious for a woman in her late thirties to be using Botox."

"I-it's true that I keep Botox at home," Maya said. "I get it from a private supplier, and I've been trained in how to use it safely. But why on earth would I inject it into my husband's body?"

"Why indeed," Conan/Kogoro said. "You used botulinum toxin to prevent the muscles in Shigeru's body from stiffening. Two hours later, whenever rigor mortis should've kicked in, the body would still be limp, so we'd be left with the impression that the victim was only killed a few minutes prior. In case you demand proof, there should be needle marks on the victim's body. Furthermore, a toxicology report should find botulinum toxin in his bloodstream."

"Takagi!" Megure ordered. "Call the coroner and tell him to check for needle marks and run a toxicology report! Tell him to search for botulinum toxin!"

"Yes sir!" Takagi said, pulling his phone out and leaving the room.

Knowing that she was defeated, Maya fell to her knees.

"Maya, why did you do it?" Conan/Kogoro asked.

"That man," she said angrily. "He has the money, but he's still got the body of a geek. He couldn't satisfy a woman's needs. I sought out big, strong, handsome men to sleep with, in order to satisfy those needs. But one day he hired a private detective, who obtained photographic evidence of one of my affairs. My husband confronted me with those photos and threatened to make them public. He threatened…to humiliate me and to destroy my reputation utterly! I knew I had to silence him, before I became a laughingstock and the object of gossip among everyone I knew. D**n you, Kogoro! You ruined everything!"

"Maya," Conan/Kogoro said. "You truly are a despicable person. As far as I can tell there is not a shred of goodness left in your heart. I don't know if you were always like this, even since college, or if your heart grew twisted with time, but…either way, you are to be pitied more than even Makoto."

Maya broke down and began sobbing on the floor. Makoto bent down and put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Like Makoto, she would now know what it was like to lose everything.

 **Scene Transition**

Conan ran on the sidewalk, running past the busy night-time traffic.

That disk, he thought. I gave it to Gin and Vodka. I should've destroyed it, even if it was incomplete. What have I done?

Finally he reached Dr. Agasa's home. He knocked on the door.

Dr. Agasa opened the door. "Oh, Shinichi! What is it?"

"I need to speak to Haibara right now," Conan said.

"My, my, what's so urgent that you'd come here at this time of night?" Haibara asked, wearing footie pajamas.

"You know how to contact Elena-san, right?" Kudo asked.

Haibara's eyes lit up.

 **Five minutes later**

Haibara handed the phone to Conan. "Here."

Conan grabbed it and put it to his ear. "Elena-san, are you there?"

Elena yawned. "Yeah, I'm here. What do you need to talk to me about?"

"Before, you mentioned that the men in black were devoting their resources to the development of a weapon," Conan said.

"Yeah, that's right," Elena said. "What about it?"

"I think I might know what it is," Conan said. "It's a cyberweapon, based off a program which was partially developed by a man named Suguru Itakura. In the wrong hands it could be used to cripple the modern global infrastructure."

"…Yes, I knew all that."

Conan's eyes widened. "Y-you knew? How?"

"That's correct," Elena said. "Bourbon has kept me well-informed of the situation. Will that be all?"

"Uh, yeah," Conan said awkwardly. "I'm sorry for having wasted your time. Bye."

He hung up.

From her office on the top floor of the White Organisation HQ, Elena stood from her chair and walked over to the old-fashioned record player. She turned it on and then sat back down. "Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner, her absolute favourite song, began playing.

You're wrong, Kudo-kun, she thought, taking a sip of her cold coffee while attending to the paperwork on her desk. The ultimate weapon shall not be digital but organic. So it is written.

 **Ending:**

( _Natsu no Maboroshi_ by Garnet Crow, a chord sheet for my version of the song below)

D# Minor B Major F# Major C# Major

(Wordless opening part to the song)

A Major E Major F# Minor C# Minor

 _Heya no mado no mukou ni hikouki kumo o nazotte_

D Major C# Minor F# Minor G Major (E Major)

 _Kyou kenkashita kimi no koto bakari kangaeteta_

A Major E Major F# Minor C# Minor

 _Sasai na koto de to madotte fuantei de muboubi na_

D Major C# Minor F# Minor

 _Ano koro no you ni sugu ni denwashite_

D Major E Major F# Minor

 _Warai aetara ii no ni ne_

G# Major A# Major C Minor G Minor G# Major A# Major D# Major

 _Chika zuite kuru shifuku no toki wa_

G# Major D# Major G# Major A# Major

 _Itami o tomonainagara ashi oto o tateru_

C Minor G Minor G# Major A# Major D# Major G# Major D# Major A# Major

 _Kangaesugite fukami ni hamaru kimi no soba ni iru no ni_

E Major B Major C# Minor E Major

 _Natsu no maboroshi hitomi tojimete ichiban saishou ni kimi o omoidasu yo_

A Major B Major G# Minor C# Minor

 _Dakedo kimi to ikiteyukitai kara_

A Major E Major F# Minor G# Minor A Major B Major E Major

 _Tomadoinagara demo ii tsunaida te o hanasanaide ne_

 **Post-Credits Scene:**

 **The Next Day**

"I said HEAVE!" Kogoro shouted.

Kogoro, Conan, and Nancy took another step up the stairs, trying to not drop Eri's refrigerator.

"GAH! My fingers are slipping!" Kogoro shouted.

Realising what that meant, Conan and Nancy immediately let go and got out of the way. The refrigerator went crashing down the stairs.

Uncle, maybe you'd be more in shape if you didn't spend so much time sleeping, Conan thought.

 **End of Episode**


End file.
